After having that well deserved hot shower, I headed into the city to replace the pants that I split in the Salt Flats.

I’d booked my first night in La Paz at the Wild Rover Hostel with Will and Klaus, knowing that one night on the booze would be enough for me. Renowned as a party hostel, I got what was expected - full of Brits and Australians, everyone getting wasted and wanting to visit the infamous cocaine bar, Route 36. I don’t do drugs, but went along for the experience anyway.

The next day I moved hostels and met up with Grace from Couchsurfing. We took the cable car (recently introduced to La Paz in 2014) up to El Alto, a neighbourhood perched high upon the outskirts of La Paz which has a beautiful view of the city.

El Alto. A poor neighbourhood, but with a fantastic view of La Paz.

In La Paz I was lucky enough to make friends with a couple of locals, which for me always makes the experience of a city much more genuine and enjoyable. Seneiya took me out on Sunday to try the Sopa de Mani (a traditional Bolivian soup), and in the afternoon I met up with Brayan to go on a mini food tour of the streets of La Paz. Having someone from the city was the only way I was going to try any of the sketchy looking street foods.

Most people visiting La Paz make sure not to miss one thing - Death Road. It’s a 62 kilometre downhill ride, starting at 4,700m above sea level linking La Paz to Coroico. As the name suggests, it’s an incredibly dangerous road and although the numbers have dropped significantly in recent years, a 2006 estimate stated that 200 to 300 travellers died every year.

I don't think Death Road is the kind of experience you want to hunt around for the cheapest price, so I went with a company which came highly recommended - Gravity. Before beginning the downhill portion of the ride, our guide gave us the choice of attempting a 30 minute uphill ride or taking the bus. Of course all the guys in the group said yes, not having any clue how hard it really is to ride uphill at 3,500m above sea level.

Playing competitive sport for my whole life, naturally I wanted to win, so I gunned it up the first hill... And was completely exhausted. I've never been so desperate for oxygen in my life, it felt like I was drowning. I spent the next 20 minutes gasping for air, trying to recover and yet still climb the remaining hills. Eventually I made it to the end where I devoured a sandwich and Powerade in seconds.

As the ride went on I became more comfortable with the bike and the conditions, so by the end of it I was flying around the corners. It felt safe enough, although in the back of my mind I always felt I was one unlucky accident away from a disaster.

Our bus, carefully making it's way around Death Road

With some energy left in the tank, I spotted another activity which would get my heart going - Urban Rush. It's a 50m descent from the 17th floor of Hotel Presidente, and it was so good I did it twice.

By Thursday my body had almost given up on me, and compounded with the effects of altitude, I spent all day in bed.

On Friday I took a day tour to Chacaltaya and Valle de la Luna. A minibus picked us up in the morning (late as they had to change a tyre), and proceeded to take us on a very dangerous looking road (not unlike Death Road) and stopped 200m short of the summit. Although it was only a 200m walk to the summit, at 5,421m above sea level you were pretty much limited to a slow walk to avoid passing out. The view at the top however was stunning and well worth the effort.

At the summit of Chacaltaya. Huayna Potosí in the background.

I woke up on Sunday short of sleep and nursing a slight hangover (thanks to a cool party at Seneiya’s friend’s house). But there were a few more things I wanted to check out in La Paz, so I met up with Brayan to check out the El Alto markets - one of the world’s biggest markets where you can find literally everything. From brand new cars to strange pets, clothes, food and electronics. In the evening we went to see the Cholitas wrestling - a cheesy touristic event where the traditional Bolivian women have it out inside a boxing ring. Still, it was good for a laugh.

In between all of this, much of my time was spent people watching in front of the San Francisco church over a fresh juice from the Mercado Lanza. The markets are a fantastic place to visit for fresh snacks and produce at incredibly cheap prices, and it's actually one of the reasons why franchises such as McDonalds have failed to have an impact in Bolivia.

For my last day in La Paz I had planned a tour to see the ancient Inca ruins of Tiwanaku. Although like I’ve said before, things in Bolivia don’t always go to plan and for some reason the tour bus never showed up. But considering the amount things I’ve squeezed into the past week or so, a day’s rest is not a bad thing. Tomorrow I’ll finally leave this exciting, yet exhausting city for Copacabana and a much needed change of pace.

Warning! The gallery below contains an image of dead llamas - supposedly good luck for the sellers at the Witches Markets.